Agents of Change — Inspirational Women Coloring Book

It highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. Too often they were unsung heroes and their contributions went unnoticed. We have chosen the most inspirational women in history; their achievements seeming all the more impressive given the modern world who have contributed in very special ways to unlock the full potential of women in society. It offers brief biographies of educators, athletes, scientists, architects, civil rights leaders and others who have made important contributions globally as documented in this Inspirational Women Coloring Book. It’s why the following women deserve celebrating and why they are as relevant now as some of them ever were in the past.

Meet the most inspirational women in history:

Agents of Change — Inspirational Women Coloring Book

Malala Yousafzai

‘I don’t want to be remembered as the girl who was shot. I want to be remembered as the girl who stood up.’

On October 9, 2012, a gunman boarded Malala’s school bus in Pakistan, asked her name and shot her three times in the head. Her crime? Speaking out about education for girls. Fear lost and bravery triumphed. A figurehead of our time, the shooting of Malala was a watershed moment, propelling a teenage girl into an overnight stateswoman for equal rights. In 2013, Time magazine listed Malala Yousafzai as one of ‘The 100 Most Influential People in the World’. On 10 October 2014, Malala co-received the Nobel Peace Prize. Lest we forget, she is still only 17 years old.

Cleopatra

‘I will not be triumphed over.’

It seems strange and almost unfitting that a woman who came to define independent strength, determination and power in an age commanded by men should be named after the Greek for ‘glory of the father.’ By the time of her sudden death in 30 BC, glory would be entirely hers. Centuries later, Cleopatra still beguiles us. Much has been written about the Pharoah’s beauty: Roman consul Cassius Dio would speak of ‘a woman of surpassing beauty’. In actuality, her ‘beauty’ is the greatest myth that defines her legacy. It also undermines her real power. Far from the Hollywood visions of Elizabeth Taylor and Angelina Jolie we celebrate today, Cleopatra did not strike Antony and Caesar to their knees with her good looks, but rather with her wit, charm and intellect. Cleopatra’s beauty morphs with our changing fashions but her fierce dynamism never alters.

Rosa Parks

‘I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free.’

In her own humble words, ‘all I was doing was trying to get home from work.’ In actuality, she did infinitely more: she became an overnight figurehead for the civil rights movement in the US. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old African-American seamstress refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on the Montgomery City bus. This isolated act and a single reply – ‘no, I’m not’ – ignited a boycott which continued for 381 days until the city repealed its law enforcing racial segregation on public buses. Rosa’s fearless rejection of racial segregation made her ‘the first lady of civil rights’. The day itself – the day she was arrested – will forever be known as Rosa Parks Day.

Amelia Earhart

‘Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.’

Amelia Earhart gave women their wings, quite literally. The first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1928, she was – incredibly – only the sixthwoman to be issued a pilot’s license. In 1931, at the same time as setting a world altitude record of 18,415 feet, Earhart also joined ‘the Ninety-Nines’, an organization of female pilots who banded together to encourage women in aviation. She once described fears as ‘paper tigers’, adding, ‘please know that I am aware of the hazards. I want to do it because I want to do it.’ During an attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 1937, Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean. She was never found. Her final failure became, like she once said, a challenge to us all.

Coco Chanel

‘The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.’

Coco Chanel didn’t just challenge the gender norms of the time through her own personal life and career – her clothes set the female body free and redesigned it’s sillhouette. Men’s clothes became women’s too: breton tops, crewneck sweaters, trousers, flat heels and suits. Her own figure – boyish frame, cropped hair and tanned skin – fast became a fashionable rejection of the traditional feminine ideal. Not only that, her dresses flipped two fingers up to restrictive corsets. Vogue quickly dubbed her little black dress ‘the garçonne’ (little boy look).

Share this great inspirational women coloring books to your kids, and give ideas for how you can take part in this amazing day. In addition to, you can ask some questions like, Which of the stories of inspiring women means the most to you? and Who are the women in your life?.